One of England's extra-time matches occurred in
group play against Belgium at World Cup 1954, where extra-time
was played in drawn group matches although tournament elimination was not
immediately at stake. Under the peculiar arrangement in force for that
tournament, each team played only two of the three other teams in the group,
which made deadlocks in the group table much more likely. The hope was that extra-time would produce a winning team and thus avoid
the need for a play-off match between teams level on points at the conclusion
of group play. Superiority in goal difference or goals scored was not
then in use as a means of breaking deadlocks in points earned in group play.